Do Landownership Motivations Determine Land and Water Management? A Survey of Ranchers in California Rangelands

Research on private ownership of rural land often draws on many factors in attempting to explain land use and management decisions, including landownership motivations. In this article, we present the results of a survey of private landowners in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Yuba, Nevada, and Butte counties (California), in a rangeland setting that is mostly open oak woodland intermixed with grassland and shrubland. We used factor analysis to identify landowner typologies based on the importance to respondents of various motivations for landownership. We then used regression models to analyze whether the identified typologies determine land and water management decisions. These decisions affect the size and distribution of shallow wetlands that provide key habitat for wildlife, particularly for the threatened California black rail ( Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus ). Our results identified two typologies associated primarily with pecuniary motivations and four with nonpecuniary motivations. We also found that landowners driven by motives we termed Profit or Lifestyle were more likely to manage water-dependent areas and take actions affecting both wetlands and land uses, while those motivated by Recreation or land Investment were less likely to take any action. Property size was also a significant driver of management decisions. Our findings suggest the need for tailoring environmental schemes to different landowner typologies in the management of private rangelands.